Cytek shoes

I've just come across this thread and must point out to Charley that you are somewhat out of date with your information and have been misled. Warwick Bloomfield was in charge of training and publicity. He has not been involved with the company for some years now. In my opinion it was a massive mistake on the part of the company to use him as he rubbed so many people up the wrong way that they became anti-cytek as well as anti-WB which is a tragedy as it prevented so many horses from benefitting.

I'd like to say a few things:
These shoes have been around for over 10 years now and the stories of people having great successes with them are increasing - despite the best efforts of the antis.
Would you rather take the word of someone who uses the shoes (owner or farrier) or someone who 'knows someone who had them'/'knew a horse once' or routinely calls them rubbish without ever having fitted - or even held one.
Look out for US farriers like Rick Burten and Patti Stiller in particular who have never had anything to do with them but love to rubbish them. I know they know nothing about them because they are still spouting the same old inaccuracies. Sometimes it feels like they have shares in Natural Balance.

Why would a farrier change to using Cytek shoes? In the UK at least they have to qualify using traditional methods. In changing to Cytek he risks the following:
Facing ridicule and even hostility from many of his colleagues, owners etc..
Losing money as they average shoeing cycle extends from 4 or 6 weeks to 8 or 10.
Losing half his client base as they flee in fright at all the horror stories they have heard on threads like this from people who feel it is okay to regurgitate false information without being bothered to do proper research and in consequence prevent horses from benefitting from these shoes.

Maybe it's because he cares what he's doing and he's found that these shoes actually work and that the horses are happy with them?

It makes me sick that there are some people in the horse world who would prefer to spread inaccurate information, negativity and even downright lies because it suits their twisted agenda rather than give these horses the opportunity to come sound.

If anyone is really interested in these shoes get on the cytek websites, speak to farriers who actually use them, contact owners who use them then make up your own mind and trust your own judgement and listen to what your horse tells you.
 
Ratcatcher said:
Would you rather take the word of someone who uses the shoes (owner or farrier) or someone who 'knows someone who had them'/'knew a horse once' or routinely calls them rubbish without ever having fitted - or even held one.

If anyone is really interested in these shoes get on the cytek websites, speak to farriers who actually use them, contact owners who use them then make up your own mind and trust your own judgement and listen to what your horse tells you.
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Well I fall in the "know someone who had them on their horse" camp and wouldn't touch this method of shoeing with your bargepole or anyone elses. I saw with my own eyes, not just hearsay from my friend and nothing on this earth would make me have these shoes on my own horses.

For those who have had good experiences great. But for those who haven't no amount of commentary on a Forum is going to make them try again. We all go from experiences in life, good or bad and these are a real no no for me.
 
Strange - I've known thousands of horses shod with traditional shoes and I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole either.

Isn't it odd how we routinely accept traditional rim shoes despite the overwhelming number of cases of lame horses we see every day? How many lame horses have you come across ishmad? What proportion of those were shod with Cytek? Just one - or two?

I've known hundreds of lame horses - all shod with traditional shoes.

Any shoe is as good as the farrier putting them on but the high incidence of lameness/tendon problems/foot issues and euthanasia resulting from hoof problems amongst the horse population (the vast majority of which are shod traditionally) makes it essential that professionals and owners take a long hard look at whether it is these methods that are actually causing the issues.

It takes guts for any farrier/vet or owner to do that objectively and ask the question - have I been doing it wrong?
 
I'm not your best candidate to answer this RC as most of my horses are barefoot, one has front shoes on and one is shod all round. Touching wood we don't have lameness issues with any of them and I'm happy with my farrier, trimmer and our present arrangements.

Cytek is not on our agenda because of what I witnessed. Had I witnessed that within my own circle of friends or myself personally with another method of shoeing whether traditional, Cytek, Natural Balance or anything else then I would feel the same.
 
Ratcatcher said:
Isn't it odd how we routinely accept traditional rim shoes despite the overwhelming number of cases of lame horses we see every day?
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We don't on this forum as it happens. If you go back and look through past posts about shoeing vs barefoot you'll see that quite clearly. Just saying and all that
 
I,ve not heard the mention of Cytek for a long time now.

I had both my horses shod with them. One horse had no problems before, during or after Cytek, The other was lame with "Navicular" in both front feet being diagnosed as a five year old. Remedial shoeing and Egg bars were tried never worked, put her into Cytek and she came right very quickly, she stayed sound on them for 6 years, when the Navicular started showing in one hoof again.

In the time she was in Cytek, I started to learn more about barefoot and had successfully had a youngster barefoot, so at this point I removed the Cytek shoes and transitioned her successfully barefoot and once again she became sound and since all my horses have worked barefoot and are sound.

So I'm not pro or anti cytek, I just tell my experience. I believe like any shoe it can only be as good as the person who balances the foot and applies the shoe.

A lot of my friends think I am now totally anti shoeing, but all I say is "I understand that barefoot is not for every owner and if you are going to put shoes on a horse at least get a good farrier who can properly balance a hoof"
 
Mine was lamed by the main man himself... That'd be enough of a testimony for me... Never again...

Mind you - I have him to thank that all my guys are now barefoot (luckily they all have good enough feet). I would rather they were trimmed and mother nature did the rest for me than put their welfare in the hands of ANY form of shoeing again!
 
Whether someone chooses barefoot or shod it seems that any problem with a Cytek shod horse is blamed squarely on the shoe rather than its application, management etc, yet I have not heard many people on horse forums blaming problems with traditionally shod horses on the shoe that is fitted. They may blame the farrier, the horse's breeding (oh, it's a thoroughbred) feeding or any number of other possibilities - never the shoe.

Just to repeat - Warwick Bloomfield never was and certainly isn't now the main man despite what he was telling everyone. In fact I don't think he is even still shoeing much and he worked in my area. He was my farrier for a number of years and I would point out that even the most skilled are not infallible and can occasionally, despite all their efforts have a problem. For example I've seen horses who have terribly damaged feet where the farrier has only millimeters to place a nail and I've seen horses that have never been taught to stand still for the farrier so shoeing is a nightmare yet some owners still expect the farrier to work miracles. Add to that the issues the horse was dealing with before the shoeing, the fact that some owners just do not follow advice following the shoeing.
 
Now call me a cynic - and i'll happily apologise if i'm proved wrong but there are 3 members on this thread all praising cytek shoes and their creator - and they're all "foal' members who haven't posted on any other thread - coincidence?

My own knowledge of Cytek is limited, I explored the avenue once but found far too many negatives for my liking, I've since spoken to a farrier who used to fit them and he said that they could be useful for some horses but that the farrier had to know what he was doing to fit them properly, he doesn't fit them any more either.
 
my only experience with cytek is as follows:

my mare was lame for a few weeks, and after x-rays she was shod with eggbars by my usual farrier. a friend of mine was going on and on about cytek, and that chronicly lame horses were becoming miraculously sound as a result of this method.

i was in no hurry to try it- as i have full faith in my farrier, but spoke to the vet, who told me that in his experience a vast number of these horses that became sound broke down and were basically ruined as a result.

as i say- no personal experience, but a story from a highly regarded professional which i took heed of.

incidentally my mare had a very deeply rooted abscess which was causing the lameness. she became sound soon after and the eggbars no longer needed.
 
maggiesmum said:
Now call me a cynic - and i'll happily apologise if i'm proved wrong but there are 3 members on this thread all praising cytek shoes and their creator - and they're all "foal' members who haven't posted on any other thread - coincidence?
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Thats what I was thinking, but couldn't be arsed to say it, as with everything on this forum it's 'my way or the highway!' as many people won't even allow themselves to think that there just MIGHT be a different way to what they are doing...

I've always had my horses traditionally shod, never had a bother with it. Got one horse barefoot too as he has smashing feet....

If the need arose, I'd look into other alternatives if they were suggested, then make my own mind up after a bit of research....
 
I do believe that a lot of lameness issues in shod horses can be down to the farrier. I just can't get my head round The concept of cytek!!!
How can grabbing a shoe out of a box and fitting a horses hoof to the shoe be good for the horse??? Surely the shoe should be fitted to the hoof instead. My old YO uses cytek on a couple of her horses and their feet look awful, I don't really rate her farrier at all as his trims a shocking too. Keeps going on about the 'mustang roll'! And how horses hoofs wear down in the wild and that's how they should be trimmed. I'm sorry but domestic horses are not in the wild roaming over different terrains they are stuck in a field and maybe get ridden on tar mac, sand and the occasional stoney track. My horse can't go in traditional rimmed shoes due to neglect when she was younger so she has natural balance. I would never however let her have cyteks fitted as can't see the benefits sorry :(.
 
One of my horses had a couple of cycles of Cytek shoes as my well respected farrier recommended them (he was a qualified Cytek farrier). They were a nightmare for my horse. She kept pulling them off and was not sound in them. I had to plead with my farrier to go back to conventional shoeing.
 
I am in the anti camp. 100%. I researched it as another woman at our yard had switched and it made sense. More fool me. Switched both horses over, first one lame and the b**ody farrier wouldn't come back out - he did after I hounded him relentlessly as he had agreed before we started I would not be leaving 3 months in the shoeing cycle and he was booked in after 6 to check. After the second shoeing my mares feet no longer actually matched. First horse kept going lame. Switched back to my farrier and never had any more problems. Fine I accept I might have had a poor farrier but I had nothing but issues and lameness and will never look at those shoes again.
 
I have had Cytek shoes fitted to all three of my horses and their pace and stride has improved since they have been fitted.

With my one horse i have tried everything to get him sound and for him to keep shoes on over the past four years, he has been bare foot, quarter clips on the front feet to help keep shoes on and I have also tried Epona shoes, which came off within hours off been put on. They were glued and nailed on for extra security but didn't last and cost around £170 just to get everything needed to carry out one shoeing. The big lad would be lame for a week after shoeing each time and then would have to be shod every 4 to 5 weeks which prevented me from really being able to do anything with him.

Since the big lad had Cyteks fitted he is no longer lame after shoeing and we have been able to start competing in all spheres now. I wish I had discovered Cyteks earlier than my horse having to go through being lame after each shoeing.

I also have an 22 yr old mare who is no longer foot sore in her Cyteks and had a new lease of life with having them fitted, her stride opened up and she is working beautifully as they all are. The youngster, 5 yr old who was only shod traditionally once and without much care, the shoes were thrown on to get him to the sales, has since been swapped over to Cyteks and is also showing improvement in his action and stride.

I haven't found any problems with using Cyteks and have learnt a lot from my Cytek farrier. It is so rare to meet a farrier that cares about the horses the way he does, or even have half the amount of knowledge about horses that he does.
I have attended two leg dissections conducted by my farrier, at which I have learnt so much as did a traditional farrier who also attended.

Before changing i did research into Cyteks, I read the good and the bad reviews and found that the research behind the shoes makes sense and changed over to them and have never looked back.

All I can say is do your research and enter with an open mind, everyone has good and bad points about everything but at least give yourself the chance to make an informed decision rather than listening to hear say, speak to people who have used the shoes and read up about them. If you think about it they have been in use for over a decade now and their popularity is still growing and going strong all over the world, not just in the UK, so something is right with them.
 
For years I resisted being converted over to Cytek shoes by a friend/client believing that the shoe should fit the horse and not the foot fit the shoes. Nailing a preset shaped shoe on didn't seem right to me. I finally agreed to give them a try a couple of months ago on my 15.2hh ex polo now happy hacking horse and my laminitic shetland.

Before using Cytek shoes, my ridden mare was on rimmed shoes. She was reluctant to trot and canter and had to be 'pushed on' but she wasn't happy. I had her back checked twice in a couple of months, her bit was changed, and a new saddle etc. My first hack out on her after having Cytek shoes fitted was a great improvement. The second hack out was great fun - she actually wanted to trot and canter. Now she is forward going and I have to stop her wanting to canter off whenever we hit suitable surfaces.

My laminitic shetland was very sore and uncomfortable being barefoot. A few days after being fitted with Cytek shoes (the first shoes he has worn), he was cantering and spinning around after the horses - playing a game of chase. I videoed it as I couldn't believe that he had changed so much in a few days.

I still find it hard to believe but the proof is in the pudding... My ponies are happy and that is all that matters.

Every horse is different - as are humans. Stop bitching and just get on with what is best for YOUR horse.
 
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mossolb said:
I, too, have had first hand experience from the top man.

I am very happy with his sincerity, committment and care for my horses.
They are both sounder in gait, stride and posture since being shod with cytek.
I know of several people who are equally satisfied and who have horses that are now pain free and sound.

Maybe you didn't get "the top man" after all. Also why so secretive - can't you post your opinions here?
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Not secretive at all THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! I just prefer not to air EVERYTHING on an open forum - I can go into the whole detail if you like - with witnesses to back me up - and in the process open a whole universal size can of worms..

Your call.

As a relatively new poster you ob don't know me. Those who do will know that this is not my style....
 
Looks like people are just joining the forum to praise cyteks - smell a rat?

there is no way a cytek shoe will EVER be nailed to my horses feet
 
Laura1812 said:
Looks like people are just joining the forum to praise cyteks - smell a rat?

there is no way a cytek shoe will EVER be nailed to my horses feet
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Just to set the record straight for all of you out there who seem to be totally intolerant of anyone who is pro Cytek.

As I've already stated I first came across this forum when I was doing some reseach into Cytek as a friend had recommended them and I wanted more info.
The posts were quite old but I noticed the tone of the "antis" tended to be almost hysterically against these shoes. This made me smell a rat. Historically in so many areas anything new which challenges long held beliefs is condemned and inventors/creators ridiculed.

I decided to make up my own mind cautiously and use my intuition with care for my horses health paramount as always.

If you want to look at my previous posts you will see what I've said about my experience.
My horses are still in cytek shoes, I have attended a clinic which was informative and enlightening and I have no reason to reconsider my decision.

The reason I decided to join this forum and added some posts was because I wanted to try and redress the balance. I haven't used it before because I don't really like forums of any kind as they seem to be full of people trying to tell everyone else what they should do and rubbish others with a dissenting voice.

If your horses are well and sound then why are you in such a state - maybe you did have a bad experience but that doesn't mean that you are right.

Why is it so hard for you to accept that other people have had a good experience of these shoes - what are you afraid of?

If I get things wrong then I try and accept that I've had an opportunity to learn from my mistakes - the guiding principle for me is my horses welfare not trying to prove I know better than everyone else.

I have had bad (and expensive) experiences with vets but I don't condemn
all vets I just accept that all so called experts aren't always right. I have also come across many people who have had horses far longer than I have but persist in doing things which are quite obviously not in the best interest of their horses.

I am posting again today because I am aware that whenever any one dares to sing the praises of Cytek it unleashes a hornets nest of condemnation together with rediculous, paranoid implications that there is some sort of collusion going on.

I would suggest that those of you who have had bad experiences, whatever the area of your life, reflect on what went wrong and you might realise that you played a part in it. It's so much easier to blame other people than take responsibility for your self and your own decisions.

If you don'tlike these shoes and don't want them then don't have them but for goodness sake allow other peole to voice their views and accounts of their experience.

My original posts were not aggressive just telling of my experience - what is wrong with you? Have you heard the expression "By your put-downs shall you be known" In other words peoples antagonism/recation says far more about them than the thing or person they are reacting to.

Good wishes to you all and I hope your horses are well and happy whatever you choose to do.
 
Luci07 said:
My thoughts exactly. None of us "timers" on here have anything positive to say!
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Hi Luci07

You have proved my point beautifully. You are a "timer" I am new so therefore you must be right and I must be suspect and not to be taken seriously.
Precisely the attitude I am seeing on this forum to Cytek shoes.

Once upon a time people were burnt at the stake for suggesting that the world was round. No doubt the "flat earthers" thought of themselves as "timers".
 
Well I am a timer (glad to see no reference to OLD) and I swear by Cyteks when appropriately used by trained fitters.

My old fella was diagnosed with Caudal heel pain 8 years ago. He was shod by Newmarkets (Rossdales) best experts who tried every product on the market. He had reverse tilt pedal bones, collapsed heels, low grade lami, thin flimsy soles, breaking hoof walls and a 10-to-2 conformation.

Once NFUs money had run out, the experts decided to write my horse off and discharged him as a lost case.

Someone through this site recommended trying Cyteks because "what had I got to lose" ? Luckily the amazing farrier Martin Goodwin had just moved from Surrey to Norfolk and came out to see my horse.

Now, at this point he was still 6/10ths lame on a right circle and 4/10th on a right circle.

Martin trimmed him and shod him in Cyteks and he went to 1/10th on both reins. Even Martin was gobsmacked. My vet was incredulous and even offered to do free xrays about 6 months in to see what effect the shoe had had. Amazingly, his sole had thickened and his heels were coming up. Slowly slowly.

Now Martin is the sort of farrier who has a long term plan. He does what ever the horse needs, not what is the latest fad. He is a traditional farrier as well as a Cytek fitter so he can work outside of the Cytek box if needs be.

My horse was shod every 5 weeks. He was too mature to change the angle of his legs so Martyn had his work cut out keeping him comfy.

He is now 19 and this year Martin finally got him into standard rim shoes. They are roller shoes with a breakover all around the shoe rather than just at the toe, and my old boys heels and souls are now able to take this type of shoe.

I will forever be grateful to the person who suggested Cyteks, just as I will be forever grateful to Martin.

Yes, they are a Marmite shoe but if thats all that stands between retirement and a comfy useful life for your horse, exactly what are you waiting for ?
 
mossolb said:
Hi Luci07

You have proved my point beautifully. You are a "timer" I am new so therefore you must be right and I must be suspect and not to be taken seriously.
Precisely the attitude I am seeing on this forum to Cytek shoes.

Once upon a time people were burnt at the stake for suggesting that the world was round. No doubt the "flat earthers" thought of themselves as "timers".
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I was not rude, or hysterical. There is (and this is not aimed at you) a very unfortunate and regular occurence on this forum of people joining on using new names and jumping on band wagons. In fact we have a very high level of "trolls" on this board...As a result, newbies are now viewed with a certain amount of sceptisim when becoming quite so adamamant with their views. Of course all views and experiences are welcome on this board - its how we learn..

If you feel you fell foul of that so be it. It is just odd that the fervent supporters are nearly all new...

I do not accept that the bad experience with the cytek farrier was also partly due to me. I don't see how it can be! I did my research, checked out said farrier, agreed a much shorter timeframe for visits than he wanted to do and it didn't work. So like others, I have had a very bad experience and will not repeat again.
 
I think we all need to do lots of research on the subject to truly understand what is best for our horses, after all, how many of us have seen a 100% wild equine's hoof? I have been fortunate to attend 2 lower leg dissections of 3 horse limbs, and I document the findings of traditional barefoot / shoeing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeYlrjI-X1w

I have a barefoot herd of 5 horses who are all Cytek trimmed, all sounder with improved posture and gaits as a result. I also have one new mare erroneously diagnosed with laminitis, shod in front with Cyteks, and instantly sound on her lame hoof.

A neighouring horse rescue centre has switched to cytek trims and the horses are all recovering from traditional barefoot farriery, which caused abscesses and seedy toe. I CANNOT PRAISE CYTEK HIGHLY ENOUGH! As with most things equine, humans still have much to learn!
 
I fully agree with Mossolb's post.

If it is the case that people are joining the forum to put forward their experiences with Cytek then I'm glad. I don't participate in forums generally but if I see so much uninformed negativity about Cytek shoeing on them I will take part to redress the balance.

One of my own horses was an insurance write off (so called navicular). She'd been that way for some years before having a set of Cyteks on and lo and behold she went sound, her feet improved, her heels became strong instead of the weedy collapsed ones they were before and she lived on happily sound and free from foot pain.

What upsets me on so many forums is that I see the same stuff trawled out time and again like the hoof is made to fit the shoe. No it isn't. The shoes come in 16 sizes and they are made to fit the foot itself. What people misinterpret as shaping the hoof to fit the shoe is the mishapen hoof wall - the equivalent of our finger nail - being trimmed back. The foot is not interfered with. In fact it is being correctly supported by a shoe that is specifically designed to support the foot - not the twisted hoof wall. Rim shoes do not support the foot - instead they protect what is a deformed hoof wall and allow the deformity to continue and worsen. The correct fitting of the shoes is very precise and not somehow an easy cop out for the farrier.

What also upsets me on some forums is that I see the same attitudes that exist out in the real world. I've known owners to be bullied in yards because they've chosen Cytek shoes despite the fact that their horses are sound and happy and if this doesn't work they resort to all sorts of ludicrous horror stories like your horse will go lame after a couple of years. Really? This method of shoeing has been going for years now and I know horses that have been on them since they started - still sound and happy. Does it really make sense to believe that your horse will go from sound, with great feet, better musculature, increased stride to a wreck in the blink of an eye?

Thankfully, and at long last, despite the damage done by some early exponents and despite the negativity that so many people try to spread, the number of owners using the shoes seems to be increasing every day and that means the number of sound and happy horses is increasing too. Not before time.
 
Ratcatcher said:
Some seek safety in numbers and that seems to be the majority of people who enjoy spreading uninformed comments. It's just easier.
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Bit confused as to where you get 'uninformed' from, people are giving their experiences of cytek shoeing, if you're suggesting that their negative comments are uninformed then equally they could suggest that your positive comments are also uninformed!

Horses are not made in a factory therefore they are not all the same, something that works for one will not necessarily work for another, you may think cytek shoes are the best thing since sliced bread as they made your lame navicular horse sound, I feel exactly the same way about removing the shoes completely. No one thing is the key to all horses, the OP asked for people opinions and experiences and that was precisely what she got, forums are places for debate, not everyone will agree with what you have to say and its unrealistic to expect them too.
 
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